When Steve Campau took over the Renton Coin Shop seven years ago there were four counters, now he has 14 for conducting business and he's seeing a greater mix
of customers.
With changes in the economy and the value of gold and silver has come a new influx of people.
Well, [gold and silver] are really important right now because theyre helping keep peoples portfolios balanced
and the people who are selling it need money, said Campau.
The Renton Coin Shop is important to the community because it provides people with money and liquidity, he said.
People are digging up coins that their grandparents gave them and Campau said, Its a treasure hunt everyday.
The Renton Coin Shop has probably five to 10 million coins. On a typical day they will have as many as 100 or 125 customers.
And so the traffic has changed a lot, said Campau. A lot of people buying and a lot of people selling more gold, more silver.
Its an extreme, he said, from the poorest customers buying $2 to $3 items to people that buy items worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Over the years Campau has watched as the value of gold and silver has gone up and down, but whats remained a constant is the community thats formed around the shop.
We get an awful lot of referrals and word of mouth simply because this shop has been here treating people decently since 1964, said Doug, a long-time shop worker. And that makes a big difference.